Prof. Michael Neushul Jr.
Prof. Michael Neushul Jr. was a quick-witted man of boundless enthusiasm and imagination, Mike was a font of new ideas and ingenious devices. During his career, Neushul attempted topics ranging from ecology to ultrastructure, extending both micro and macroalgae, but his special interest remained in Macrocystis.
Born in Shanghai, China in 1933 - where his father was a Pilot and businessman- Mike settled in California but traveled the seven continents. He entered the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) intended to become an elementary school teacher. But his lifelong interest in marine plants was ignited in Arthur Haupt's botany course at UCLA. Through Haupt, he met renowned algologist E. Yale Dawson, who inspired Mike to enter the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and study the growth and reproduction of giant kelp with Francis Haxo. Dawson and Mike worked together on the distribution and taxonomy of marine algae in southern California and northwestern Mexico and Dawson later named the red alga Botryocladia neushulii in his honor.
Mike's interest grew in phycology during the summer course at Hopkins Marine Station taught by Isabella A. Abbott and George J. Hollenberg. His bent for research, keen mind, and physical stamina - he had been a varsity swimmer and water poloist - produced a Ph.D. in record time. An advocate of rigorous field research, he helped pioneer the use of scuba to make well-designed and systematic underwater observations of marine plants in nature. Mike was among the first to study seaweeds in Antarctica, even under the ice. Mike won a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of London, Queen Mary College. While in London he met Susan Gardner, Mike's beloved wife until she died in 1988.
He returned to the U.S. in 1960 to join the Department of Botany, University of Washington (UW). There he inspired students and colleagues with his novel ways of finding patterns of distribution and abundance among kelp and other seaweeds. He used new multivariate analyses to reveal such patterns and always sought new techniques of sampling. He even installed an “underwater railroad” out of the depths for retrieving experimental outplants without suffering the misery of “cold-diver” syndrome. He left UW for UCSB, where he stayed the rest of his life.
Mike's cooperative spirit, innovative way, and first-hand familiarity with the subtidal seascape were the keys to his success at UCSB. He had always pondered how kelps and other large seaweeds thrived in a moving fluid. Thus began a long and rewarding collaboration with ballistics expert and fluid dynamics engineer Alex Charters. Their sophisticated demonstration of how patterns of water movement massaged algal surfaces was years ahead of its time. Now, water flow is one of the hottest topics in marine ecology. In his last letter to Mike, in fact, renowned ecologist Paul Dayton of Scripps said: “We are all rediscovering what you and Alex Charters did 26 years ago.” These discoveries in plant hydrodynamics spawned a new design of experimental farms for growing kelp and other seaweeds in coastal waters. His adapting the freeze-etching technique to observe a plant's cellular machinery won him the Darbaker Prize from the Botanical Society of America in 1972. He honed his “green thumb” for culturing marine algae by starting home-and-home collaborations with Chinese and Japanese colleagues. These associations produced new breakthroughs in hybridizing kelps for possible crops. In 1978 he founded Neushul Mariculture, Inc., to accommodate his growing interest in marine farming and applied phycology. His family helped start the new enterprise, which has employed countless UCSB students over the years.
A productive scientist, Mike authored over 100 papers and mentored 35 Ph.D. students. He has high expectations of his students and was supportive in helping his students meet those expectations. He held regular phycology reviews with his students in which research papers were discussed, often followed by dinners and lively discussions hosted by his wife in their home. Many of his creative ideas were explored in the research of his Ph.D. students, yet he allowed them to choose and design their own research. He required his Ph.D. students to become divers. To ensure that all his students become good swimmers, he took them swimming every day at noon, requiring a half a mile swim before lunch. In 1957-58 Mike took part in an Oceanographic Expedition to Antarctica organized by the Argentine Navy as a part of International Geophysical Year. He was the first scientist to use SCUBA in Antarctic waters. He completed 33 dives during this expedition, which were as long as 1 hour and as deep as 20 m. From that experience he published two papers, the first served as a model for Antarctic diving; while the second provided insights into the biology of Antarctic seaweeds in their ice-impacted habitat.
Mike served the phycological community in a variety of ways. He was president of the Phycological Society of America (PSA) in 1984-85. He played a catalytic role in the founding of the Applied Phycology section of PSA. He also served on editorial boards of the Journal of Phycology, Botanica Marina, American Journal of Botany, Marine Ecology Progress Series. Mike was Chairman of the US National Committee for the Ninth International Seaweed Symposium at Santa Barbara. This was the first Seaweed Symposium in the USA and the largest one to date.
Mike was best known for this creativity and friendliness. Wit and warmth made him a great teacher. He challenged the intellect of those around him. His jokes and bold ideas would burst forth at a staccato pace. His classes, seminars, and informal “bull sessions” were joyful and informative. Mike's enthusiasm was contagious; his generosity unlimited.
Much more could be said about Mike's contributions to global phycology. His legacy of research, teaching, and goodwill is enormous. He was a charming man whose creativity and lust for life was contagious. He derived great joy from scientific discussions with young people, especially his many students. Although his career was shortened by cancer, it should be appreciated that no single lifetime could exhaust the curiosity with which Mike Neushul tackled science.
Data compiled by: Dr. Vaibhav A. Mantri, Principal Scientist & Divisional Chair, CSIR-CSMCRI, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India.
Source Credit: "Prominent Phycologists of the 20th Century" by David J Garbary and Michael J. Wynne (Eds) & Alfred W. Ebeling, UCLA
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Really a great personality...
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